DEAL FOR REAL

This is a deal that will end all deals

May 27, 2007|By Toni Salama, Tribune staff reporter

I like to see people save money. From trip of a lifetime to weekend getaway, there's almost always a way to spend less without scrimping on the quality of your vacation. But you have to be careful. There are a lot of deals out there, and they all make fantastic promises, some of which don't hold up.

For more that nine years, we've specifically examined package offers in this Deal for Real column. Most of the packages we've scrutinized have represented savings from slight to significant. Others have been real dogs. How can you know for sure which is which?

As Deal for Real concludes its run to make way for other content -- this is our farewell column -- we leave you with these guidelines.

ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS

When an offer says something like "save $250," what hard price is the savings being compared against? Supposing this were an offer from a complete vacation package of flight and all-inclusive resort: Are you saving $250 off the published airfares and "rack" rates (which no one ever pays), or are you saving $250 off the lowest Internet rates?

The fact is, you may never get a satisfactory answer to this question. Any time an advertisement tells you what you'll "save" instead of what you'll spend, that's a red flag. The best way to proceed here is to check it against a similar program from a competitor.

What does the fine print say? Let's suppose that you see an airfare advertised like this: Phoenix -- $29*. Read the fine print and you'll discover that the fare is only one-way based on round-trip purchase, doesn't include taxes or 9/11 security fees, must be purchased by midnight tonight, and is only good for travel on red-eye flights Tuesdays and Wednesdays with a Saturday-night stay. Just remember that it isn't just the airlines that play this game; tour operators -- and that includes online booking engines -- hotels, cruise lines and even rental car companies also do it. Read the fine print at every opportunity. It matters.

What do these items really cost? Here's a typical scenario. A hotel's "Romance Package" sounds like you're getting a lot of stuff for $325 per night: standard room, breakfast, champagne, roses and a horse-drawn carriage ride. Comparison-shop every inclusion.

The room: How much does it alone cost? Breakfast: Do hotel guests get it free anyway, even if they don't pay for the package; if not, what does it usually cost? The champagne: What brand is it, and what does the hotel's restaurant charge for a bottle of the same? For that matter, do you really want someone else picking out your champagne? Do you even drink the stuff at all?

The roses: How much do flowers cost in a local market? Call a florist and find out. It might be more romantic to pick out your own. The carriage ride: Do you realize that you can call carriage companies directly and ask for their rates?

When you total your number and compare them to the package, you may find that it is a bargain. Or you may find that you can reserve an upgraded room, get free breakfast anyway and hire a carriage for less money on your own. But you won't know for sure unless you are willing to do your homework.

You're charging me for what? Before you hand over your credit card and book, read the itemized bill . Are you being automatically charged for trip insurance that you didn't want? Did a heretofore undisclosed resort fee appear or should you expect to see one at check-out? Are the dates, times, destinations and travelers' names accurate? You have a right, and a responsibility, to know exactly what you are paying for up front.